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Terror bird
The''' terror bird''' was an unidentified species of large, flightless predatory bird from Pleistocene South America. One was kept in a paddock at Prehistoric Park. Physical appearance and biology This terror bird was like most others in build, with a long neck and legs, and a heavy, powerful beak and neck. The colouration of its feathers, however, was striking. Its hindquaters were mostly dark brown, but its front, neck and head were yellow, with a single black stripe running down the sides of its throat. It also had a small black and white crest of feathers, which was used for communication.Prehistoric Park DVD "Fact Files" What appear to be wings on the terror bird's side are actually tipped with small claws. These, however, are functionally useless, although they may be used as part of displays.Prehistoric Park DVD "Fact Files" Behaviour and traits Terror birds were predatory by nature, hunting smaller animals at speeds of up to 60 kilometres an hour.Prehistoric Park DVD "Fact Files" They were ambush predators, stalking prey from the long grass common in the cerrado grasslands of South America. Terror birds killed by pinning prey to the ground with their powerful feet, then slashing and hacking with their beak.Prehistoric Park DVD "Fact Files" However, the terror birds were swiftly outcompeted when North and South America collided, forming the Isthmus of Panama. Placental invaders from the north, such as sabre-toothed cats, were more able predators, and the terror birds and marsupial predators were forced into scavenging from sabre-tooth kills, eventually going extinct. Like modern day birds of prey such as owls, terror birds would leave little on a carcass, devouring meat, bone, ruffage, hair and feathers. Presumably, like other predatory birds, undigested parts were defeceated in pellets. Like some modern birds, terror birds required regular dust baths in sandy areas in order to remain clean. In Prehistoric Park Saving the Sabretooth At Prehistoric Park, Nigel Marven planned to rescue a terror bird from the past. He asked Head Keeper Bob to make a paddock for it. In the Pleistocene, Nigel observed a a terror bird being attracted to a dead Toxodon, killed by a pack of sabre-toothed cats. However, one of the pack returned whilst it was eating, causing the bird to run back to the forest edge and drop its piece of meat. Nigel managed to retrieve the meat and tie it to his Jeep, and used it to lure the terror bird through his time portal to Prehistoric Park. As it entered the present and ran through the portal site, it screamed at Bob. Shortly after, it was taken into a temporary holding pen, then its own paddock. After a few weeks, it regained its strength and appetite. Supercroc Since arriving at the park, the terror bird seemed to have been at least slightly tamed. It did not attack Bob whenever it escaped, instead merely watching him curiously, and none of the staff seem anxious about being around it. The individual in the park soon began taking dust baths near the paddock's fence. This resulted in gaps constantly being made below the fence, enabling the bird to repeatedly escape. In its final escape, the terror bird confronts Bob whilst is was cleaning the Elasmotherium paddock, and has to be lured away with meat by a team from the Control Room. During the mass breakout, the terror bird's fences are broken down by a rampaging titanosaur. It escapes into the park, and is presumably recaptured after the situation is resolved. Behind the scenes The specific genus of this terror bird is never stated in the series. It is generally believed to be Phorusrhacos. Its size and appearance may correspond more accurately with Kelenken: however, Kelenken ''was not discovered until 2007. Its fact file on the ''Prehistoric Park DVD does not identify the genus, but it does state the name meaning as "wrinkle-bearer". Whilst this is the name meaning of Phorusrhacos, it is also the name meaning of phorusrhacid, which is the entire terror bird family. On TVGuide.com, the terror bird is identified as Titanis walleri.Prehistoric Park Season 1 Episodes | TVGuide.com However, the website makes some errors regarding the series, such as saying Dinobirds is set in the Jurassic era. List of appearances *''Prehistoric Park'' **104. Saving the Sabretooth **106. Supercroc Notes and references Category:Animals Category:Birds Category:Pleistocene Category:South America Category:Animals in Saving the Sabretooth Category:Animals in the park Category:Animals in Supercroc